Adults aged 25 and overuse their mobile device over 260 times a day; while those aged between 15 and 24 interact with a piece of smart technology 387 times a day.

That’s a lot of fiddling – and it demonstrates that we are addicted to our mobile devices.

And as that addiction is showing no sign of diminishing, now is the best time for the industry to embrace apps.

So, keep up.

Read on for the essential interactive technology developments for mobile app design for 2019.

The Internet of Things

The IoT is nothing new.

Let’s face it – the Internet of Things has been in the common vernacular for the past decade, more or less.

But:

It’s yet to be fully embraced in the context of app technology.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of the Internet of Things, it’s just a blanket expression for the plethora of connectable that operate around the home – or – more aptly for our purposes – within the industry.

Alexa: IoT

Hey Google: IoT

Hey Siri: IoT.

Basically, any single hub – such as Alexa – that controls the operation of something physical around you is the Internet of Things.

And apps that embrace the IoT are useful – and, therefore, buy-in from consumers and businesses are growing.

According to a prediction from Statista, there will be over 75 billion IoT-connected devices in use by 2025, while the volume of smartphone users is predicted to reach 2.5 billion in 2019.

So:

Apps that control physical hardware around the home, office or factory are primed for development.

For example:

Get a live video and stock feed from the factory floor through an interactive display that assesses workforce productivity while keeping managers in different offices connected and providing live data from their mobile devices: all accessible through a single app-based portal that controls everything.

It’s all possible. And it’s what 2019 is getting itself ready for.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

Google launched the AMP project in 2016 and now uses it as an SEO metric to establish a website’s value to the searcher.

But SEO ranking isn’t the metric you should be considering here. Your priority in app development should be in creating an attractive, user-friendly UI that just works.

And quickly.

For example:

If the funding stream driving your app relies on advertising that links to external web pages, then you should be looking for an almost imperceptible cross-over from app to AAMP-optimized web page.

A fluid user-experience (UX) is essential in modern app technology – so if you’re looking for the customer- or brand-loyalty, AMP is the technology to employ.

Personalization

Apps are a big driver for brand loyalty because they’re primed for ‘personalization

And while personalization, per se, isn’t an emerging technology in the physical sense, it’s very much a growing trend in data gathering; bringing untold benefit to the world of the app developer.

Personalization is a tool proven to increase user engagement online.

Apps that allow users to keep track of things their shopping lists, previous purchases, and notifications, make the app experience more valuable for the consumer, but they also, provide precious data for the app developer and brand to analyze.

The Starbucks app is an excellent example of personalization at its most effective – with proven brand loyalty outcomes.

The app permits the user to keep a record of their purchases while offering loyalty “stars” which can be cashed in for free coffee – essentially, it’s the electronic version of their Rewards card.

The data gathered from the user’s personalization settings afford Starbucks the ability to offer customized discounts based on individual purchase histories; suggesting products that they know will boost brand loyalty.

All while keeping the brand message at the forefront of their customer’s memory.

To further drill the personalization message home, 39% of Starbucks’ total sales are paid for via mobile devices – while using their app to gather loyalty points.

The Growing World of Wearables

Wearables, mainly in the shape of smartwatches, have gained a tremendous amount of traction over the past couple of years; and this is only fit to expand.

However:

Smartwatches –

so far – are broadly considered little more than elaborate pedometers, health checkers, and contactless payment devices.

Basically, the smartwatch has been presented as an expensive toy.

There’s so much that can be done.

Factory workers, for example, will be wearing wearables in 2019 that can track productivity and activity, using NFC (Near Field Communication) to log product sales and stock availability; updating live databases to help keep track of stock levels and sales.

App integration with wearables isn’t just a gimmick for the consumer market but a valuable interactive technological addition for industrial apps.

And it’s not just smartwatches, either.

The world of wearables includes:

Smart glasses – for an instant, connected the understanding of everything within your field of vision in three-dimensions and beyond.

Wearables, personalization, AMP, AR and IoT are shaping 2019 into the year of change in interactive technologies. So, if you’re developing apps for the future market, don’t allow yourself to get left behind.